Ben Shelton has stormed his way into a third Grand Slam quarter-final, and a second at the Australian Open.
Shelton had ‘goosebumps’ in his win over Gael Monfils, which did ultimately end early due to the Frenchman retiring hurt in the fourth round tie.
But two-time ATP champion Shelton was leading at the time, and now finds himself in a quarter-final clash against Lorenzo Sonego.
Shelton has been urged to win the Australian Open, but the 21st seed must first make it past a player who has also been really impressive in Melbourne thus far.
Italian ace Sonego has beaten the likes of Stan Wawrinka, Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien at the Australian Open so far.
Sam Querrey and John Isner back Ben Shelton to win Australian Open quarter-final
But currently sitting 55th in the ATP rankings, Sonego is the underdog going into the quarter-final, which takes place at Rod Laver Arena.
Shelton meanwhile occupies 20th spot, with former professional trio Steve Johnson, Sam Querrey and John Isner all backing their fellow American to win the match.
“Ben is an animal,” Johnson said on the latest episode of the Nothing Major podcast. “The guy is an animal.
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“The kid is an athlete and a physical freak in the best kind of way. He doesn’t get tired, he is going to go out there and compete.
“I would like Ben eight times out of 10, but being the favourite is not a normal position for him to be in in the quarter-final of a Slam so that is going to be a tricky thing to wrestle with mentally.
“But if he can get over that fact and not worry about that fact then, I think he gets it done. I think he might start a little slow, but I think Ben gets it done.”
Querrey then commented: “I don’t think it’s even a tricky one. I think Ben gets it done. He has that mental edge, that cockiness.
“He is laying his head on a pillow tonight thinking I am in a quarter-final and playing Sonego. There’s zero chance I lose that game.
“Too good of a competitor, he is going to will himself to a match win. He is just going to refuse to lose to Sonego in the quarter-finals. Shelton is winning that every single time.”
And a confident Isner concurred, saying: “I couldn’t agree more with that. I think this is one-way traffic for Mr. Shelton.”
Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Sonego take different routes to Australian Open quarter-final
Fittingly, Shelton and Sonego have a 1-1 head-to-head record ahead of the match, with the Italian winning their most recent clash.
He emerged victorious in their 2023 French Open round of 128 meeting, after the American won their 2022 Cincinnati round of 64 tie.
Shelton has already beaten an Italian in Melbourne this time around in Lorenzo Musetti, overcoming the 2024 Wimbledon semi-finalist in round three.
He has also edged past experienced players Pablo Carreno Busta and Monfils, with Sonego having largely taken a different route.
His triumph over Wawrinka aside, the Italian has overcome young stars in Fonseca and Tien, who played in the final of the NextGen ATP Finals last month.
Champion Fonseca had previously beaten Andrey Rublev in Melbourne, while Tien had overcome Daniil Medvedev.
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